JP/6/OTHS6
JP/6/OTHS6
Setting standards
To keep Malaysia's growth engines going, the country needs
about a million foreign workers. To this end, MoUs have been
signed with Pakistan, Sri Lanka, China, Vietnam, Bangladesh and
Thailand to recruit workers.
In addition to the workers we've been getting from Indonesia
and the Philippines, Malaysia is likely to see a wider cross-
section of Asians working in our midst. The benefits are enormous
but we should also prepare for possible social problems that can
accompany such workers.
For instance, earlier this week, police in Miri had to confine
Indonesian workers in their respective factories for several days
after violent clashes involving the Madurese, Sambas and Javanese
took place in Bintulu and Miri.
Of course, not all foreign workers will cause trouble but if
their basic requirements are not met or even understood by us --
because of language problems -- we are not likely to benefit from
more foreign workers in this country. Conversely, they may be
exploited by unscrupulous employers if they do not know the basic
laws of the country pertaining to their rights.
As such, the mandatory two-week training program for foreign
workers announced by Human Resources Minister Fong Chan Onn will
be most useful. To begin in January next year, the program for
firsttime workers will help establish standards, weed out the
uncertain ones and will help both the workers and their employers
to understand each other's requirements and expectations.
-- New Straits Times, Kuala Lumpur
On the continuing threat of AIDS
Advances in medicine have cut into the deadly nature of AIDS
and people with HIV, but those advances are part of the reason
why more education is necessary.
Experts say that new HIV cases continue to increase. And a
majority of the new cases are coming from a younger segment of
the population. Part of the reason, they say, is because
youngsters see cases of superstars who have developed AIDS living
longer, more productive lives, and they begin to think that the
disease isn't the killer it once was.
They are wrong.
That is scarier for people if they are not in monogamous
relationships.
Trouble is, you probably won't know if your date is HIV
positive unless he or she tells you, and there is a good chance
that your partner may not even know.
The state and nation have made considerable progress in the
fight against HIV and AIDS. But the battle is far from over.
-- Carroll County Times, Westminster, Md.
Stepping up the war on graft
Although Malaysia is ranked 33rd out of 102 countries in the
Corruption Perception Index compiled by Transparency
International, this is not a level which the country should be
comfortable with. The Prime Minister has made the war on graft a
top priority since his first day in office, and has backed his
strong words with specific actions in a short space of time from
the announcement of the formation of a National Institute for
Public Ethics and the development of a National Integrity Plan to
the recent anti-corruption academy.
As a signatory to the UN anticorruption convention, Malaysia
is committing itself to the international standards of integrity
and good governance that it sets. Steps are also being taken to
develop the capacity of the Anti-Corruption Agency so that it can
do its work more effectively.
According to a PriceWaterhouseCoopers report, the key reason
for failure in the fight against corruption in East Africa has
been the lack of political will. Transparency International has
cited a strong resolve by governments as the critical factor
behind the success of the anti-graft battle in countries such as
Hong Kong. The firmness of purpose shown by the Prime Minister
indicates that such a political will is not lacking. However, no
single individual or government can wipe out corruption without
the commitment and support from all sectors of society.
Corruption is not just an ethical issue.
As the Prime Minister said, it also "interferes with the
smooth running of the Government, interferes with the
implementation of things we want to do, and creates problems in
the public delivery system. It creates a bad name for the
Government and for Malaysia and it just makes life difficult."
This is why all Malaysians need to join the Prime Minister in his
fight against corruption. The consequences of losing this war
would be too heavy to bear.
-- New Straits Times, Kuala Lumpur
HIV/AIDS drug plans
The anti-retroviral plan for HIV/AIDS sufferers is at last
beginning to emerge from the sleight of hand maze that has too
often characterized South Africa's official response to the
epidemic. However, there are a number of consequences that need
to be considered to balance the euphoria.
Although one of the legs of the plan is stepping up
prevention, there is a huge danger that in the popular
imagination what is no more than a palliative is being perceived
as a cure, and that this will undo much of the excellent work
done by existing HIV/AIDS awareness programs, particularly by
agencies such as Soul City and loveLife.
Although the two programs differ in approach, both are
contributing to the revitalization of a positive youth culture in
South Africa. The health authorities -- and the media -- should
take great care to ensure that the right message concerning the
anti-retroviral plan is consistently delivered. The impression
must never be created that the popping of a few pills is a
realistic alternative to the painstaking prevention work that is
beginning to lead an otherwise deflated post-struggle generation
into a new era of self-belief and hope in the future, of mutual
respect between the genders and of responsible sexual behavior.
-- The Star, Johannesburg, South Africa
Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Rumsfeld can be criticized for a lot of things. But the
U.S. defense secretary's use of English is not one of them. The
Plain English Campaign has shot itself in the foot this week by
giving Rumsfeld its annual Foot in Mouth award for this comment,
delivered at a press conference earlier in the year:
"Reports that say something hasn't happened are always
interesting to me," Rumsfeld said, "because, as we know, there
are known knowns, there are things we know we know. We also know
there are known unknowns; that is to say, we know there are some
things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns -- the
ones we don't know we don't know."
This is indeed a complex, almost Kantian, thought. It needs a
little concentration to follow it. Yet it is anything but
foolish. It is also perfectly clear. It is expressed in admirably
plain English, with not a word of jargon or gobbledygook in it. A
Cambridge literary theorist, U.S. Air Force war gamer or Treasury
tax law draftsman would be sacked for producing such a useful
thought so simply expressed in good Anglo-Saxon words. So let
Rummy be. The Plain English Campaign should find itself a more
deserving target for its misplaced mockery.
-- The Guardian, London
President Bush's visit to Iraq
The American troops were pleasantly surprised, of course, to
see their Commander in Chief suddenly in their midst. There is
little doubt that the visit will serve as a morale booster for
them in a battlefield where their mission is still far from being
accomplished.
For the Iraqis, however, the visit will carry a mixed message.
That the first American president ever to visit their country
should have done so under the cover of darkness and left
hurriedly to avoid the thugs and assassins to whom he referred in
his speech, merely underscored the abnormality of the scene in
Iraq. Arguably, it can be said to have become worse considering
that no such secrecy shrouded the earlier visits of Secretary of
State Colin Powell and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Even as
Bush flitted in and out of Iraq, Democratic Party Senator Hillary
Clinton was in Afghanistan, another terrorist hot spot, in a
well-publicized visit.
If Bush's visit to Great Britain was meant to show that the
U.S. was not without friends in the world, the objective of the
Iraq visit apart from demonstrating his own commitment was to
thank the soldiers, many of whom may be wondering what they are
doing in a faraway country. Unless the conditions improve,
however, the visit will be no more than a flash in the pan.
-- The Hindustan Times, Delhi, India
Pakistan-India cease-fire
When Pakistan made the cease-fire offer on the occasion of Eid
Al-Fitr and India responded positively to it, we thought that the
developments augured well for peace negotiations.
However, Wednesday's rejection of the cease-fire by the rebel
group, Hizbul Mujahedin, is bound to thwart progress toward
restoration of normalcy in Kashmir, especially in the tense
border areas.
What is necessary is nothing less than major surgery. The
Hizbul says that the situation inside Indian-administered Kashmir
is "tense and the struggle will continue with full force." One
reason for the groups frustration could be the security fence
being built by the Indians along the Line of Control, which will
separate relatives and friends in an already divided province.
But no matter how well founded the apprehensions of the
fence's critics, the rebels and their political backers who
oppose the cease-fire should give the deal a chance. For, above
all, the cease-fire benefits ordinary Kashmiris, who can now more
freely venture out of their homes, whether to visit relatives and
friends or to pray. In short, it has given them a taste of normal
life after years of continual tension and bloodshed.
-- Khaleej Times, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
U.S. trade barriers
U.S. trade actions are sending the wrong message. If the
United States continues its present trade policy, it will become
even more isolated in its diplomatic and security policy, and the
aim of containing terror that the international community seeks
will recede further into the background.
The United States maintains that imports of steel products
threaten the domestic industry. But the real problem lies with
the American steel industry, where many manufacturers operate
obsolete plants and machinery and have little competitive edge in
either domestic or foreign markets. Even in the United States,
many viewed the safeguard measure as purely a vote-getting
expedient in the run-up to the midterm election in the fall of
2002 and said it went against the principle of free trade.
The United States should lift its restrictions on imports. It
must decide to either have uncompetitive businesses make a
graceful exit from the market or grope for ways to revive them
under recognized international ground rules -- which is what the
United States has always advocated.
-- The Asahi Shimbun, Tokyo
---------------------------------------------
Erie Times-News, Erie, Pennsylvania, on steel tariffs:
The Bush administration has apparently decided to repeal most
of its 20-month-old tariffs on imported steel. Pennsylvania
industry welcomed those tariffs and will regret seeing them
vanish. But the political reality is, Bush has no choice. And
politics will dictate that the administration disguise this
defeat for the Rust Belt states as a victory for industry
"restructuring." ...
The World Trade Organization had declared the tariffs illegal
under U.S. commercial treaties. That cleared the way for a trade
war. European nations threatened to retaliate against American
products if Bush did not drop the steel tariffs. Japan joined the
European chorus. The Europeans and Japanese targeted $2.2 billion
in American products carefully -- the states Bush will need to
win the presidency in 2004 produce them. They include citrus
products, motorcycles, farm machinery, textiles, shoes and nuts.
California and Florida would have suffered severely. Bush could
use the electoral votes of both states, especially Florida's.
Bush lost Pennsylvania and Michigan in 2000. The repeal will hurt
him in Pennsylvania, but help him in Michigan.
Bush's aides "agonized" over the choice. It is easy to see
why. Whatever he does, Bush risks offending critical voter blocs.
He stands to gain more than he loses if he ends the tariffs. ...
Politics is shot through this story. The imposition of the
tariffs, the exemptions granted from them, the tactics adopted by
the Europeans and Japanese, and the tariff repeal have been
dictated by politics. Indeed, they have been dictated by
electoral politics.
That is nothing new, but politics has short-term goals. But
the problems of the Rust Belt and indeed America's future demand
thinking beyond the next election cycle.
---
News Chief, Winter Haven, Florida, on the release of detainees in Guantanamo:
The Bush administration is finally beginning to resolve the
fate of the prisoners held in legal limbo at Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba. It is overdue.
Published accounts say that more than 100 -- one account says
140 -- will be released in December and January to their home
countries. ...
The administration has insisted that neither U.S. laws nor
international treaties, such as those governing prisoners of war,
apply to the detainees, and it has asserted its right to hold
them indefinitely and largely incommunicado.
That assertion has outraged world opinion and badly damaged
the United States' reputation as an upholder of the rule of law
and a champion of due process. Many of the prisoners, most of
them captured in Afghanistan, have been in custody since January
2002...
The Supreme Court just recently agreed to hear an appeal on
behalf of 16 of the detainees- two Britons, two Australians and
12 Kuwaitis- seeking the right to challenge their imprisonment in
U.S. courts. If the court finds for the detainees, the
administration will lose its rationale for running Guantanamo as
it does.
---
The Daily Leader, Brookhaven, Mississippi, on President Bush in Iraq:
It was so secret that even his parents did not find out until
he failed to show up for Thanksgiving dinner. President George
Bush's surprise visit to Baghdad Thursday morning caught the
world by surprise.
Considering that just days ago a cargo plane flying into
Baghdad was struck by a shoulder-fired missile, it was a gutsy
move by the President and one that should lift the spirits of a
nation beginning to have second thoughts about a war being fought
half-a-world away.
A calculated risk, the President flew for eight hours, landed
at Baghdad International Airport and spent two and a half hours
serving food and mixing with troops before returning home.
Surprised soldiers gave praise to Bush.
"It was a display of confidence in our ability to protect not
just us, but him," said one soldier.
"My morale had kind of sputtered, now I'm good for another two
months," said another.
When times get tough, a good leader takes risk and rallies the
troops.
While his opponents will undoubtedly call it a political
stunt, in reality he was doing what he has done all along --
provide good strong leadership.
---
GetAP 1.00 -- DEC 5, 2003 01:41:03
;AP;
ANPA ..r..
NA-GEN--Editorial Roundup
By The Associated Press=
JP/
By The Associated Press=
A selection of excerpts from editorials in newspapers worldwide:
---
---
---
---
---
Irish Independent, Dublin, Ireland, on elections in Northern
Ireland:
Last week's results in the Assembly elections show how far
Northern Ireland has come since the bleak days of the mid-
Eighties, when the IRA was engaged in its murderous campaign to
achieve Irish unity through violent means. ... The change,
however, is disappointing, disturbing and ominous.
Disappointing because those who risked most (the SDLP and the
UUP) to make a success of the Agreement have little to show from
these results but a measure of public contempt for their heroic
efforts.
Disturbing because those who have gained most in last week's
election have given least in ensuring the success of the Good
Friday accord. The DUP opposed the Agreement, but accepted
ministerial office in the Executive. ...
Above all, the result is ominous because it has produced a
dangerous political stalemate, one which will not be easily
resolved. ...
The two parties least capable of political compromise have
become the dominant parties of unionism and nationalism in
Northern Ireland. Much of what the Good Friday Agreement was
designed to prevent, the polarization of politics, has just
happened.
---
MORE[
GetAP 1.00 -- DEC 5, 2003 01:40:57